1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image generating apparatus, and more particularly, it relates to an image generating apparatus comprising a print head.
2. Description of the Background Art
Image generating apparatuses comprising print heads are known in general, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open Nos. 2005-349725, 9-226204 (1997), 10-119326 (1998), 2004-223731 and 9-216394 (1997), for example.
The image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-349725 comprises a print head having a pair of arms and a chassis having a pair of mounting portions on which the pair of arms of the print head are rotatably mounted. One of the pair of arms is provided with a stopper (stop portion). According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-349725, the stopper inhibits the print head from dropping.
The image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-226204 comprises a frame (chassis), a shaft (rotation axis) mounted on the frame and a head plate (print head) rotatably mounted on the shaft. According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-226204, a stop ring is mounted on the shaft, thereby inhibiting the head plate (print head) from deviating in the direction of the rotation axis with respect to the shaft (rotation axis).
The image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-119326 comprises a print head having a rotation axis and a frame (chassis) integrally having an upwardly opening bearing supporting the rotation axis of the print head. According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 10-119326, the print head is moved downward from above, so that the rotation axis thereof is mounted on the bearing of the frame.
The image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-223731 comprises a body case (chassis) and a print head rotatably mounted on a support shaft (rotation axis) provided on the body case. The print head has a receiving hole. According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2004-223731, the support shaft (rotation axis) is inserted into the receiving hole of the print head, so that the print head is rotatably mounted on the support shaft (rotation axis).
The image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-216394 comprises a housing having a guide groove and a print head having a rotation axis. According to Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-216394, the rotation axis of the print head is guided through the guide groove of the housing, so that the print head is mounted on the housing.
In the image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-349725, however, the stopper (stop portion) is provided on only one of the pair of arms. If an impact is applied to the image generating apparatus, therefore, the other arm may disadvantageously drop from the image generating apparatus.
In the image generating apparatus described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 9-226204, the stop ring is separately provided for inhibiting the head plate from deviating in the direction of the rotation axis with respect to the shaft, whereby the number of components is disadvantageously increased.
Each of the image generating apparatuses described in the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laying-Open Nos. 10-119326, 2004-223731 and 9-216394 is conceivably provided with no structure regulating the position of the print head in the direction of the rotation axis, although this is not clearly described. Therefore, it may conceivably be difficult to inhibit the print head from deviating in the direction of the rotation axis.